DC COMICS' MANGA IMPRINT

Paul Levitz, President & Publisher of DC Comics announced on Wednesday that DC Comics will launch CMX, a new imprint of manga graphic novels, with the publication of three titles in October.

The first three to be released are the initial volumes of Madara (art by Tajima Sho-u and written by Otsuka Eiji from Kadokawa), Mekakushi No Kuni (illustrated and written by Tsukuba Sakura from Hakusensha), and Eroika Yori Ai Wo Komete (illustrated and written by Aoike Yasuko, from Akita Shoten.)

"There's tremendous enthusiasm for manga in the States," Levitz said. "New readers, particularly girls and women, have rushed to embrace new talent from abroad, which we're excited to bring to American audiences as part of DC Comics' commitment to publishing diverse and exciting works from around the world."

Each of the CMX titles are Japanese manga which are being released for the first time in the United States, and will be published in the traditional manga format -- sized at 5 X 7 3/8", with black and white interiors. Subsequent volumes of each series will be released on a quarterly schedule.

"We believe that manga readership is going to continue its rapid growth and also evolve in the U.S.," said John Nee, Vice President -- Business Development at DC Comics. "CMX is committed to publishing all genre of manga, including horror, fantasy, science fiction and adventure titles, and the line will be as diverse, and as author-friendly, as that of DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm."

Nee also announced that DC Comics has hired Jake Tarbox as the Group Editor of the CMX imprint. Tarbox has spent the last 14 years living in Tokyo, Japan where he worked at Coamix, Inc. as the International Affairs Manager and Vice-Editor-Chief of Raijin Comics, administered the creation of the American subsidiary company Gutsoon! Entertainment, and edited the manga magazine, Raijin Comics. Tarbox will handle the editorial responsibilities for the CMX imprint, including overseeing the translation and printing of manga titles into English.

SPIDER-MAN 2 UPDATE

NBC has released an image of Spider-Man 2 star Tobey Maguire appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday.

Maguire taped the appearance before the Spider-Man 2 world premiere on Tuesday.

Leno gave Maguire a couple of presents, including a bag of Los Angeles Lakers car flags -- Maguire is a big Lakers fan -- and a painting of Spider-Man riding Seabiscuit.

At the premiere, Maguire, his castmates and the filmakers were crushed by the media. "I just can't wait for people to see it," Maguire said.

In other Spider-Man 2 news:

* VH1 Goes Inside Spider-Man will air on Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET). The show will be repeated Saturday at noon and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

BRIEFLY

New Line Cinema has released a first look at the poster from Blade: Trinity. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

Sculptor Jonathan Matthews has signed a one-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics. "In the short time I've worked for DC Direct, I've had a chance to create projects with some of the industry's finest talent, from artists to art directors," Matthews said. "It's great fun to sculpt projects based on some of my all-time favorite characters, and I look forward to being continually challenged and rewarded as I work with DC Direct."

Coming Thursday: Marvel news -- and much more!!!

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:

* For Wednesday, June 16, including Marvel's solicitations for September, CLICK HERE.

* For Tuesday, June 15, including an inteview with Spider-Man 2's Alfred Molina, CLICK HERE.

* For Monday, June 14, including DC Comics' solicitations for September, CLICK HERE.

* For Monday, May 24, including the Spider-Man panel from Wizard World Philadelphia, CLICK HERE.

* For Sunday, May 23, including Marvel's Avengers and Cup 'o Joe panels at Wizard World Philadelphia, CLICK HERE.

* For Saturday, May 22, including Marvel's solicitations for August, CLICK HERE.

* For Friday, May 21, including the X-Men panel at Wizard World Philadelphia, with more than 80 images of upcoming X-books, CLICK HERE.

* For Thursday, May 20, including Marvel and Dark Horse first looks, CLICK HERE.

* For Wednesday, May 19, including Marvel and DC first looks, CLICK HERE.

* For Tuesday, May 18, including Smallville and Global Frequency news, CLICK HERE.

* For Monday, May 17, including DC Comics' solicitations for August, CLICK HERE.

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